I have used phplist before with fairly small numbers of subscribers (a couple of thousands).

For a new setup with 18 thousands subsribers, I have installed version 3.As there's a huge number of emails, to be sent I wanted to use a smtp server instead of the mail function.I can not manage to get it to work: not with the smtp of my host (OVH) nor with a dedicated smtp server (from mandrill.com).

Could anybody share the config to use a smtp server from mandrill.com (or any other similar service) ?I can not use the mail function as my hosting service (OVH) limits drastically the numbers of emails being sent ... and I can use the bounce feature either. I am quite desperate for a reliable smtp solution (and possibily not too expensive hence mandrill.com).

Thanks in advance for your help,L@u

Last edited by ComputingFroggy on 10:01am, Thu 05 Mar, 2015, edited 1 time in total.

I think Mandrill has the smtp and api instructions in your account there. (Mandrill)

Basically, you would need to get those settings, and enter them into your config.php file (the basic config.php does not have the parameters that you need to use Mandrill.). At a minimum, you could copy the needed parameters from the config_extended.php, and paste/edit them in the config.php file.

What you should be looking at is "smtp server", "port number", username, user password.

I do believe they limit the number you can send... until you build a history using your list...

But eventually, I found the correct setting: looking at Mandrill help instructions, I realised there was several ports to be tested as ISPs might block some.Of course, the 2 ports I tried were the ones blocked (25 and 587) so I thought the problem was something else.Using the port 2525 worked ! !

So I give here the settings for Mandrill and OVH (if that can help someone else) ... which are quite straight forward once, you know the correct port.

As a side note, it is true that Mandrill will limit the number being sent per hour ... which is a good thing to avoid being blacklisted. As you build your history (and your mail server become "warmer"), the number should increase.

I still don't get the bounce message back into phpList (which was one of the reason of using Mandrill), but I am going to look into this now ... and I will post my findings.

Thanks for this nice version of phpList: I was getting desperate to get it working ... now it's done, just setting the right port ! The version 3 is so much better than version 2, it's a pleasure to use.Thanks again for the good work.

You will need to configure your sending domain (menu Settings Domains=> Sending Domains) to improve deliverability. You will setup DKIM and SPF for your domain.And then change the Custom SPF/DKIM Signing Domain, on the page Settings Sending defaults.

To enable bounce management, you will need to create a subdomain and then add this subdomain to Mandrill config (menu Settings Domains=> Tracking & Return Path Domains).You will need to add a Cname value in the DNS settings for that new subdomain (and also remove all value that might interfere, like A value).

I have also added my bounce address in the field Forward bounce notifications to this address, of the page Settings Sending defaults. Not sure whether this is required ... but I thought it wouldn't hurt.

I got the bounces into phpList that way ! !

So now, I just have to read the phpList documentation to know how to deal with the bounces ! I am glad to get phpList working correctly.